Leveling base for lavatories and the like



Aug. 19 1924.

P. MUELLER ET AL LEVELING BASE FOR LAVATORIES AND THE LIKE Filed Nov l2, 1919 5mm Phi Z 6526 erm :3 n

flnfon aflch l. 331A I Patented Aug. 19, 19241.

' in STA TE 7 ean PHILII MUELLER AND ANTON C. SCHUE R-MANN, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORS 7 T0 ADOLPH MUELLER, TRUSTEE, OF DECATUR, ILLINOIS.

LEVELING BASE Eon LAVATOBIES AND Tasman.

Application :filed November 12, 1919. Serial No. 337,495.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PHILIP fVIU'ELLERifiIlCl ANTON C. SoHUERMANN, citizens of the United States, residing at Decatur,-in the 5 county of Macon and State of Illinois, have invented new and useful Improvements in Leveling Bases for Lavatories and the, like, of which the following is a specification:

The present invention relates to leveling devices, and is herein disclosed asapplied to fixtures for lavatories to insure theproper leveling of such fixtures, even though there be inequalities in the lavatory slab or other support which would tend, unless compensated for, to tilt such fixtures and throw out of line the fixture connections, thus rendering difficult the proper coupling up of the associated fixtures and their connections.

It sometimes happens that in the moldin of lavatory slabs, sink backs, and other supports used in bath room and other plumbing work, that inequalities will appear in those areas on which the faucets, bibs, or other fixtures rest, and such inequalities not only prevent the level seating of the faucet or bib, but also throw out of line the threaded or other connections by which these fixtures are coupled to the supply pipes.

It is with the purpose of overcoming this difficulty and providing a seat for such fixtures which will insure a leveling of the fixtures and compensate for all ordinary inequalities in the surface of the slab or other r support and also for an inclined position thereof, that we have devised the construction which is illustrated in the drawing accompanying this application and described in detail hereinafter.

In the drawing;

Figure 1 is a sectional view of so much of a lavatory basin and a water supply nozzle or faucet as will serve to illustrate our invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view, slightly enlarged, to illustrate the leveling action of the device.

Figure 3 is a sectional view showing the invention applied to a wash tray or sink having an inclined back slab.

Figure 4: is a top plan view of the leveling ring.

Figure 5 is a view to illustrate the use of a leveling ring having a different formation from that shown in the other views.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, like numbers zindicating like parts in the several views,i1O indicates the'lavatory slab, which may be of, any desired material, design, and construction, and be provided with the usual holesgto receive the faucet shank or coupling. v

In the'present' case the fitting, here shown :as a spout or faucet 11, is provided with a shank extending downwardly through the hole ain the slab, which shank is coupled by any :suitable means to a supply, and the fiow throughwhich may'be controlled by any suitable means; and said shank may besecured in any approved mannertoth'e slab. Itwill be understood that the faucet ll'may be ofany style ormechanicalmake up without departing from the spirit of our invention, which has to 7 do, not with a particular style of faucet or other fitting, but with a leveling device primarily designed for faucets'or bibs or analogous devicesof: any type.

The faucet 11 has 'its lower edge rounded as atl2 to form a seating section, and this rounded edge seats upon the curved face 13 of the leveling ring 14 in such manneras to raise the bottom of the faucet slightly from the slab and give clearance to permit the faucet to rock upon the curved seat 13 of'the ring; The lowerface of the ring 14 isp'referably flat and seats firmly upon the slablO.

If the slab v1O be free from inequalities,

the ring 14 will seat fiatly upon it and the v faucet 11 will be seated symmetrically in the curved seat 13 of the ring as shown in Fig. 1. If, however, there be inequalities in the slab, the ring 14 will be tilted, as-shown in Fig. 2 and the faucetlEZ will adjust itself in seat 13 of the ring, as shown, so as to be leveland insureproper alignment and accurate bringing together of the connections and straight positioning of the faucet.

Preferably the seat 13 and the seating section 12 will both be struck on a true are, and, furthermore, the ring 14 will be formed with its outer wall curved or other,- wise shaped symmetrically with the base of the faucet so that there will be no break in the general line or contour of the parts at the meeting point of the ring 14 and the faucetbody 11, thus insuring a finished and neat appearance of the fixture when set up, Preferably, though not necessarily, the ring will be substantially triangular in cross, section, as shown. J i

. loosely engage the lower portion of the shank l1 and be removably secured thereto by any suitable means, as the nut 27 The clamping plate 26 is formed preferably with a peripheral flange 29 provided with diametrically disposed threaded apertures,

through which extend the adjusting screws 30 arranged so as to permit their inner ends to contact with the bottom of the slab. Furthermore, it will be observed that the central opening 31 in the clamping plate 26 is of much larger diameter than that of the shank 11 so that when the screws 30 are adjusted relative to each other to compensate for any unevenness in theslab 10, the clamping plate may be suitably tilted, and thus insure a proper positioning of the parts. It is, of course, obvious that the clamping plate 26 instead of being formed with a peripheral flange may be provided with diametrically disposed outwardly extending ears or lugs.

In the application of the invention as illustrated in Fig. 3 it is shown in connection with a sink or wash tray in which back board 15 is inclined, with a bib 16 mounted thereon. The flange of the bib 16 may, in this case, if desired, be provided with a bead 17 rounded to fit the curved seat 18 of the ring 19 so that when the parts are set up the bib will rock to a true horizontalposition on the ring with its flange at a true vertical, and the threaded shank 20 of the bib horizontally aligned, in which position it may be readily coupled with the ordinary coupling 21 which connects it with the supply pipe 22, and the necessary horizontal and vertical alignments of the shank, supply pipe, and coupling, be preserved.

In Figure 5, we have illustrated a slightly different arrangement, the faucet shank 23 being provided with a concave seating surface 24 designed to engage the convex surface of a leveling ring 25 which surrounds the shank 26 of the faucet and res-ts upon the slab 27 With this construction, the ring 23 will be placed upon the slab and the faucet shank will be passed through the ring and slab until the concave, seating surface 24 rests upon the convex surface of the leveling ring 25 which will support it clear of the slab so that the fixture may be properly aligned and set up regardless of any imperfections in the slab area.

It will be obvious that this leveling ring may be adapted to a'variety of uses, of which the two illustrations just described are examples, and this being the case, we do not confine the invention to the particular adaptations here shown, nor do we confine it to the art of plumbing or water supplies for it may be applied with equally good results to other arts where it is necessary or desirable to keep various devices or fixtures level and compensate for inequalities in supporting or contacting surfaces.

We claim:

The combination in a lavatory, of a supporting slab having a fixture receiving aperture, a fixture having a rounded body provided with an inwardly extending convex lower edge and a centrally disposed shank extending through said aperture, said shank being spaced laterally from the wall of said aperture to permit tilting of the fixture, a leveling ring supported on the slab,

about the fixture shank, said ring having a concave upper surface engaging the lower edge of said body, a clamping plate surrounding the fixture shank below the slab and having a peripheral flange provided with diametrically opposed openings, screws extending through said openings and engaging the underside of said slab to permit adjustment of the plate when the shank is in a non-vertical position, and means for removably securing the plate to said shank. In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

PHILIP MUELLER.

ANTON C. SCHUERMANN. 

